![\"Canterbury](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/3ddc09922e8f09651ae8e81a5a3ab6446b574c37.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nGrowing up in Queensland, it was a real treat to get the \u201cSydney league\u201d on TV as the local Brisbane comp was always shown on the ABC. But we\u2019d get the Amco Cup on Channel \u2018O\u2019, and premiership matches here and there, and I fell in love with Canterbury-Bankstown because of the way they played. Coached by Teddy Glossop, they were known as \u2018The Entertainers\u2019 and they narrowly lost the 1979 grand final to the Dragons. I was 11 at the time. In 1980, they played Easts in the big one. I was beside myself. The match was sealed when Greg Brentnall made a break on the left and, out of options, put up a bomb on the run. Steve Gearin chased it and caught it just short of the tryline and scored. It was the most excited I had ever been. Almost as excited as Glossop was on the sideline.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Canterbury celebrates the 1980 grand final.Credit: Pearce; Alan Gilbert Purcell; Julian Kevin Zakaras\/Fairfax Media<\/p>\n
1999: Storm defeat Dragons 20-18<\/p>\n
It still feels like an impossible dream. Four seasons in, fielding a team of journeymen led by an ageing champion (Glenn Lazarus) and taking on the powers of the newly formed St George-Illawarra Dragons, the Melbourne Storm\u2019s maiden title was a seminal moment. Having lost the qualifying final to the Dragons, the Storm won each of their remaining finals by two points before coming back from 12 points down to win the decider on a penalty try after winger Craig Smith was knocked out flying for a high ball. In the decades since, this title has fallen a little into the background \u2013 but for many Victorians, including myself, it showed us everything that is great about rugby league and demonstrated the uniting force that the Storm could be.<\/p>\n
2023: Panthers defeat Broncos 26-24<\/p>\n
As someone born in 1997, my grand final memories are all from this century. The first I remember is the 2005 decider between Wests Tigers and the Cowboys, but my favourite has to be the 2023 epic between the Panthers and the Broncos. It was the first grand final at which I had worked as a journo at the ground, and it was just as much a rollercoaster ride in the press box as it was from the stands or the couch. Ezra Mam\u2019s hat-trick drove a dagger through the heart of Penrith fans hoping to see the three-peat, before Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary put the team on his back and carried them to an unlikely and incredible victory. Simply … wow.<\/p>\n
![\"Penrith](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/897af678db964d74dd518e1c8aef60f64dd61c11.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Penrith celebrate their 2023 grand final victory.Credit: Getty<\/p>\n
1986: Parramatta defeat Bulldogs 4-2<\/p>\n
As far as spectacles go, this was an absolute bludger. But when your 10th birthday party coincides with grand final day, your beloved Eels are playing, and the guest list includes an aunty who has flown in from Russia for the first time, there\u2019s only one thing to wish for when you blow out the candles. The full-time siren provided an unbridled moment of joy, one that marriage, children and religion have been unable to reproduce. I have made a career out of rugby league in the hope that, one day, I will witness the likes of it again. The wait continues.<\/p>\n
1997: Knights defeat Sea Eagles 22-16<\/p>\n
Critics will say it was only half a competition, but for the Newcastle Knights and their fans, the 1997 grand final was a fairytale that ended happily ever after. It wasn\u2019t just the sheer theatre of clinching victory over Manly seconds from full-time after Andrew Johns\u2019s famous pass inside to Darren Albert. It was also the sweetest revenge. Manly had won 11 consecutive games against the Knights leading into the grand final. At the old Sydney Football Stadium, the Knights harnessed their rage to produce one of the great grand final upsets. It was a classic underdog triumph and remains a memory that will forever warm the hearts of the Novocastrian faithful. As Matthew Johns famously declared at the time: \u201cBetter than lego.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Prince](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/2f19a1f735be1d29dcd6a6925ffcb6c4e598ee92.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Prince Albert: Darren Albert and the Knights celebrate an improbable grand final victory in 1997.Credit: Craig Golding<\/p>\n
NRL & NRLW Telstra Premiership Grand Final Tickets on sale now, secure your seats HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n *Terms and Conditions: Game of skill. Competition open to residents of NSW who are current subscribers of the Sin Bin newsletter and the Sydney Morning Herald. Entrants under 18 must seek Parent or Legal Guardian consent to enter. Competition closes 25\/09\/2025 11:59pm AEST. Winners chosen 29\/09\/2025 at 11:00am AEST at Promoter\u2019s office. Winner notified by phone within 2 days. Full terms and conditions at subscriber.smh.com.au\/nrl-terms<\/a>. Promoter is Nine Entertainment Co. Pty Ltd of 1 Denison Street, North Sydney NSW 2060.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Growing up in Queensland, it was a real treat to get the \u201cSydney league\u201d on TV as the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":150464,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-150463","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-national-rugby-league","11":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","12":"tag-nrl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150463\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}